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NCAA: How the Gators built this year's Final Four team

The 2010s

Florida center Patric Young walks off the court after the second half in a regional final game against Dayton at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 29, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. Florida won 62-52. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Florida center Patric Young cuts part of the net after the second half in a regional final game against Dayton at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 29, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. Florida won 62-52. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin (5) and center Patric Young (4) talk on the court during the second half in a second-round game against Albany in the NCAA college basketball tournament against Albany, Thursday, March 20, 2014, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

The finished product in the Final Four is what fans see.

But how did it all come together for coach Billy Donovan and the Gators, who face UConn on Saturday? The Gators aren’t loaded with major NBA prospects. It doesn’t have McDonald’s All-Americans up and down the lineup.

Florida’s blueprint for success under Donovan: Sign a handful of major recruits, develop a few who might not be as highly regarded, then add a couple of impact transfers.

Consider that Kentucky, another Final Four program, has a combined 11 McDonald’s All-Americans on this year’s roster (seven) and signed in the class of 2014 (four). Florida has had 19 McDonald’s All-Americans in its history.

A yearly look at how the Gators were assembled:

The 2010s

The core of this year’s Final Four squad came from this class.

Patric Young was a McDonald’s All-American out of Jacksonville’s Providence School. Casey Prather was a consensus four-star prospect, the eighth-best small forward in the nation by ESPN. While they were both stars within the state, Scottie Wilbekin (two-star from Gainesville The Rock) and Will Yeguete (three-star out of Florida Air) weren’t brand-name guys in recruiting, yet both wound up far more important to the Gators than a much higher-ranked player in this class. Four-star Cody Larson washed out and left the school in 2012.

How it could have turned out: Prather’s decision to come to Florida was far from a sure thing. He trimmed his list to the Gators and Michigan, and was thought to be a Wolverines lean. The Gators also recruited Brandon Knight (Kentucky) hard and center Fab Melo (Syracuse).

The 2011s

This small signing class was done after a year.

Bradley Beal had the makings of Florida’s next superstar, but he left after his freshman season for the NBA and was the No. 3 overall pick. Power forward Walter Pitchford seldom played and transferred after the season.

How it could have turned out: One of their main targets, Dorian Finney-Smith, signed with Virginia Tech. Had Beal stayed another season, Florida would have likely been in the Final Four before 2014.

The 2012s

The biggest recruit in this class — Braxton Ogbueze — was a consensus top 100 player and rated as the nation’s fifth-best point guard. He transferred to Charlotte after an invisible freshman season (0.8 ppg). DeVon Walker was a top 150 national player, who also liked UConn. Dillon Graham’s stock went through the roof during summer league season, earning the Orlando First Academy guard offers from Kansas, Louisville and Maryland. The biggest addition was the signing of Montverde Academy guard Michael Frazier. He’s been lethal from behind the 3-point arc since early in his high school career.

How it could have turned out: The Gators missed out on just about every big target they went after. Five-stars Alex Poythress (Kentucky) and Jarnell Stokes (Tennessee) signed elsewhere, as did No. 1 target Anthony Bennett (UNLV), who went on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick of Cleveland last year.

The 2013s

Two of the biggest prospects in the country — both five-star McDonald’s All-Americans — point guard Kasey Hill from Montverde and 6-foot-10 center Chris Walker of Holmes County — signed with Florida. In terms of marquee recruits, Hill and Walker are two of the biggest signees under Donovan.

How it could have turned out: The Gators missed out on the elusive big man yet again, this one in their own backyard. Think of a rotation that included Gainesville The Rock’s Joel Embiid playing alongside Patric Young in some rotations. Embiid played right down the road from the O’Connell Center but signed with Kansas.

The walk-ons

Oviedo Hagerty grad Jacob Kurtz was a former fan-turned team manager-turned walk-on. Lexx Edwards could have played college football but opted to stay in-state and compete at Florida. Billy Donovan Jr. spent two seasons at Catholic University before returning to Gainesville and joining the Gators.

The transfers

Finney-Smith picked Virginia Tech over Florida during his recruiting process and spent a season with the Hokies. He sat out last season as required by the NCAA. Eli Carter spent two seasons at Maryland before transferring to Florida, although he’s redshirting as he continues to rehab a broken leg. Forward Alex Murphy came over from Duke.